feathered friends,

Sitting home alone,

Isolated, locked-down, shielded,

Your only human contact,

Via the computer or the phone.

Sitting home alone, nor knowing what to do,

But look out of your window,

So, let the birds come and comfort you.

Summon, the finches, the starlings, the sparrows.

Put out some bird seed and,

They’ll fly in like arrows.

Watch the blue tits and coal tits,

Hanging upside from feeders.

Even a few stale breadcrumbs

Will bring you feathered friends,

Strutting robins, hopping blackbirds,

Elegant doves and portly pigeons,

And even, rarer migrants,

Flying here from far off regions,

May come swooping in

To enliven your day,

And drop you some droppings,

Before they go away.

Yes, brighten your life,

With avian shitters.

And your steadily growing

Ornithological fascination

Will add lots of birdlime

To your situation.

So, keep it up and, you never know,

You could get guano,

All over your patio.